Sakura's Choice
by ErithEl
Summary: The world is on the brink of war and Sakura is tired of always walking one step behind her powerful teammates. But will she be able to find the strength and courage she needs before it's too late to save her friend or even herself? Mainly about Team 7.
1. Selfish

**Note: There's a couple things I should just tell/warn you of before you read this. First of all, the inspiration for this story came from a painting I sold as last years Anime Expo. If you want to see it, it's on my deviantArt page (info in my profile) and it's also called "Sakura's Choice." Secondly, I'm not really sure how good this story will be (if at all) because I tend to do the stupid thing of starting a story with just a vague idea in mind and not really a plot. Also, because of that, I'm not sure how long this will be. I know this first chapter is short, but it'll probably be the only one lol! Thirdly, be warned that there will be some action in this (hence the hesitant "M" rating). It's kindof a test for me because honestly I don't know how well I can write action since I haven't really done it before. Oh, and by "action" I mean fighting and not sex. OK, I think that's all for now...**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the rites to my own imagination.**

**Chapter 1: Selfish**

So much had happened in the past day that it left my head spinning.

Looking back on it, I don't know what I was thinking. I had seen how much Sasuke had changed when we met him at Orochimaru's hideout, so somewhere in my mind I knew – I _knew_ – that I could never actually kill him! Honestly, as good as Kakashi-sensei is I'm not even sure _he_ could do it.

As selfish as this sounds, sometimes I wish I had been put on another team. Back then I was so stupid and naive; all I cared about was how popular Sasuke was and how annoying Naruto was. I thought it was just going to be fun and games with a little bit of danger thrown in here and there, but…well, that was before I really knew anything about my two teammates.

The two most powerful and troubled boys in Konoha – maybe in our entire country. And the two people I cared about most in the world.

So many thoughts were stampeding through my head that I was only paying half of my attention to what our friends were arguing about. Shikamaru said something about Naruto protecting Sasuke but Naruto denied it. Then Neji asked Naruto that if Sasuke was so weak after fighting the five kages _and_ Danzo, why didn't he just finish him off? I had to say something then because that just wasn't fair.

"Madara was there, too!" I blurted. Neji hadn't been there. He couldn't say things like that because he couldn't understand what it was like for Naruto. "It wasn't that easy, and besides –"

"You still shouldn't have let him get away!" Kiba interrupted me. He didn't understand, either. I'd like to see _him_ go up against Madara _and_ Sasuke! "Naruto, you're strong. You're the one who defeated Pain! Sasuke should be no prob –"

"That's not true."

I looked at Naruto but he was facing away from me so I couldn't see his face.

"I wouldn't have been able to defeat him. I just knew…" He trailed off. I couldn't see his expression but I could hear the unsettled, hollow tone of his voice clearly. It made me wonder even more what had really happened back there. I had _witnessed_ it and still it made no sense.

"What do you mean?" Chouji asked, sounding a little anxious.

"I mean that no one else can face Sasuke," Naruto told us dismissively. "I'm the only one who can fight him, that's all." It didn't take a genius to know that his mind was made up and nothing would ever change it. Why did he have to be so _stubborn_ all the time?

"What the hell happened?" Neji demanded. "Tell me."

"I will tell you…when the time comes."

Where was the happy Naruto we all had grown up with? What had happened to my friend?

A sudden memory flashed through my mind of what Naruto had said to Sasuke back there: _'When you and I fight…we will both die.'_ When I thought of the way he used to be, and the way he was now…I hated it. I hated how Naruto felt like he had to face this on his own; how whatever he was hiding was so terrible that he couldn't even tell his closest friends. I hated how Sasuke was so unimaginably different. I hated how I was so helpless, compared to them.

I _hated_ how Naruto could just smile and say that they were both going to die.

'_When you and I fight…we will both die.'_ Just like that. Like they were the only two people in the world and their deaths would have absolutely no affect on anyone. Like their deaths would mean absolutely nothing to _me_.

I know I was being selfish again, but I couldn't help it! I couldn't lose both of them – I just couldn't. It would tear me apart.

When Sasuke left it felt as though my chest had been ripped open, leaving me with nothing. Then Naruto went after him, but came back alone. He was lying there in that hospital bed assuring me again and again that he would keep his promise and it just made me hurt even more.

Then when we got the first real hint of Sasuke's location, and we met Orochimaru on the bridge of Heaven and Earth…that thing that Naruto became; that rage, that ferocity…it broke my heart to see it; to see how far he was willing to go to keep his promise to me. And then when we finally got there, when we finally met our old teammate, when we _finally_ got to see his face after all those years…

I'm not sure if I ever truly knew Sasuke. It was more as if I knew the _idea_ of him and not the actual person. As much as I hated to admit this, I'm pretty sure Naruto was the only one who even had the slightest chance of truly knowing him, and yet…

I don't understand it. I don't get how they can be so close and still all they can think about whenever they meet is _killing_ each other!

I felt someone touch my arm and it tore me away from my thoughts.

"S-Sakura?" It was Hinata who had been standing next to me. "Everyone is g-going back, now."

It was true. Everyone had wandered off. Thankfully, Hinata was nice enough to actually tell me, or I'm sure I would have stood there for hours without realizing.

The two of us began walking back into the village silently. I cast a sidelong glance at her without turning my head. We had never been close friends, but of course I knew her. Knew her, and how she felt about Naruto. Everyone secretly knew she had confessed to him during his fight with Pain, and that had brought out the Kyuubi in full force. She had almost died defending him. She had been brave and fearless in the face of love, and what had I ever done?

All I ever did was act selfish. I wanted Sasuke to stay because of how he made _me_ feel. I wanted Naruto to risk his life bringing Sasuke back for _me_. After Naruto returned from fighting Pain I didn't want anyone else to go near him, although I'm not exactly sure why. It was like…he went away and returned a sage and he was so powerful and taking on Pain by himself, and then everyone gathered to welcome him home and I – I wanted them to know that I had been through more with him than anyone else. For some reason seeing all those kids crowding around him, and the thought of Hinata approaching him after her confession made me feel overprotective and – no, not jealous. I wasn't jealous. I was just so glad that he had come back alive and I selfishly felt that I was the only one who deserved to touch him.

I was so distracted, again, that I jumped in surprise when an ANBU appeared beside me.

"Sakura Haruno, you were the student of the Fifth Hokage, correct?"

"Yes?"

"Then you will be happy to hear she has awakened."

"_What?_" I gasped in shock, all previous thoughts pushed out of my head. "She - she's awake?" I faltered for a moment as I the last time I had seen her face. "Is she…how is she?"

"Please follow me." He took off and I leaped after him. No matter what she looked like, she was awake. Finally something was going right.


	2. Deception

**Note: OK, so here's the chapter where I branch off from the current manga story-line, so don't freak out. Also some things I have to change for the sake of the plot (like Kakashi knowing more than I think he actually does in "Naruto" reality). Oh, and I've only gone over this once checking for mistakes so there probably will be some, just so you know _ **

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the rites to my own imagination.**

**Chapter 2: Deception**

It felt like only a couple hours after Tsunade-sama had woken up that she was on her feet and heading off to meet with the other kages. In reality it was 3 days.

During that time I barely saw my friends. Occasionally when I did pass one of them on the street we would nod to each other or say a brief "hello," but that was it. Once Ino came and walked with me for a while. Neither of us said a word as we made our way through the part of town that was still in ruins from Pain's attack.

Everyone knew we could go to war any day now, and that was scary. Terrifying, actually, because none of us had any idea what to expect. Sure, we'd all passed the exams; we'd proven ourselves on our missions, but this was totally different. This was on a level that we weren't ready to face yet.

Honestly, I didn't want to think about it, so I tried to keep as busy as I could. I helped my parents around the house – weeding the garden, cleaning, learning to cook some simple dishes. I cleaned my room then decided to rearrange the furniture because I was done to quickly and I needed the distraction. When I went out I looked for all manner of small jobs or errands I could do. A lot of the time I went to help with the reconstruction that was always going on. That was where I ran into most of my friends.

Not once, though, in those three days did I see Naruto.

Last I saw him was when he was at Ichiraku Ramen, when I told him about Tsunade-sama's recovery. After that, it was like he vanished. I walked by his house several times but it was always dark.

Considering who he was, I had expected Naruto to be in the middle of everything, rebuilding, helping the villagers, arguing with Tsunade-sama, or at least on the training grounds preparing for his fight with Sasuke.

In a way I was glad I hadn't been seeing him because it was saving me the trouble of intentionally _avoiding_ him. He probably thought horribly of me for saying and doing what I did. I _felt_ horribly about it, because I hadn't meant to hurt him at all. I just couldn't – I couldn't feel guilty about that stupid promise anymore!

We weren't kids. It wasn't the same as it was back when Sasuke first left. This was serious. Sasuke was dangerous. It wouldn't be easy – in fact, I think at this point it might be _impossible_ – to bring him back. If something bad happened to Naruto while they were fighting…if something truly terrible happened I would feel as if it was all my fault.

I could not live with myself with the feeling that I had caused Naruto, the hero of the village, to be –

I know it must have sounded cruel – and I was _still_ being selfish – but that's not how I meant it to be. I had always known that Naruto had a crush on me, but I guess I never really knew how strong his feelings were until Sai told me.

Sai had only been around us for a couple months and he was still learning about emotions, but still he saw more than I ever really did. He just wouldn't stop talking – going on about how much Naruto cared for me, and how much he cared for Sasuke, how he was in pain and how we were all relying on him far too much, and it was true. It was all true!

For what felt like the millionth time, my heart broke to think of all he had done for us. He had given this village everything and what had we ever done for him in return? What had I ever done? I had never meant to hurt him and yet I had. I had been hurting him for years.

I was just trying to put a stop to it by telling him my – my feelings.

By this time my feet had carried me to the training ground where Team 7 had our first lesson from Kakashi-sensei.

I stared at the three wooden pillars where we'd had lunch that day. Closing my eyes I tried to picture how it had been: Sasuke on the left, Naruto in the middle and me on the right, from where I was standing. Naruto had been tied to the pillar, and we had passed by offering him food. We had passed because we had acted like a team for the first time.

It was a joke, now. _Team_ _7_.

No matter how much I wished, we would never be Team 7 again. Even if Sasuke came back; even if we were together again, going out on missions, it would never be the same.

I could feel my eyes sting as I tried to hold in my tears. I cried much too easily, and if I was going to be of any use to anyone, that had to stop.

"Sakura."

I started in surprise and turned around to see Kakashi-sensei standing a couple feet behind me, his hands in his pockets. Once he had my attention, he sidled over to stand next to me.

"Well, this brings back some memories," he remarked casually, glancing out over the training field.

"Yes."

He tilted his head to give me a sidelong glance. When I didn't say anything else, he sighed. "I actually came here to tell you something, Sakura."

Tell me this is all a bad dream. How about that, Sensei?

"It's about Naruto."

That got my attention. "What about him? I haven't – have you seen him? I haven't seen him in three days."

"He's around." One of his hands came out of his pocket to scratch behind one ear. "Sakura, you know there are only two jinchuuriki left – Killer Bee, the eight-tails, and Naruto, the nine-tails."

I nodded.

"And you know that the Akatsuki member who wears the mask is really Madara Uchiha."

Again, I nodded.

"Madara is trying to gather all the bijuu because together they form an entity powerful enough to rule the entire world."

"I know, Kakashi-sensei. That is what we are fighting to prevent."

"Yes, we are not going to allow this to happen." He turned fully towards me, then, and fixed his one visible eye on mine with such intent that I knew what he was about to say was serious and important. "This will be a difficult time for Naruto, in particular."

"But…why? Because of Sasuke?"

He shook his head. "As we speak, the five kages are holding a meeting to decide the fate of these last jinchuuriki. I am fairly certain they will vote to hide them somewhere safe and completely isolated, so there is no possible chance of their involvement in the fighting."

_What? Hide our two most powerful allies?_ "Wait a minute! Naruto won't just –"

"Exactly," he interrupted me. "Naruto will expect to be at the center of everything, but this is one battle he cannot take part in. Not just for his own safety – although that is a great concern – but for the safety of us all." He looked back towards the village. "He has an innate will to protect those precious to him, and when he sees someone in danger he loses all sense of himself and his own safety. It is a noble trait to possess, but this time we somehow have to make him see that he is the one who must be protected."

"But, Sensei, he'll never see that." I tried to imagine Naruto sitting off in some secluded mountain cabin while a battle raged below. That would never happen. "Naruto is always the first to fight – the first person to act. He'll never allow us to fight without him." _And what about Sasuke?_ I silently added. _Who will fight Sasuke if Naruto is gone?_

"This is why I have come to you." Kakashi-sensei ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Myself, Yamato, and Sai are meeting him at his house tonight to discuss this with him. Since you are a part of our team, you should be there as well."

"O-oh, all right," I said, somewhat surprised. "When are we meeting him?"

"As soon as we finish our conversation." His one eye crinkled in a smile that was hidden behind his mask. "Shall we go?"

*

Naruto answered the door in a worn-out t-shirt, an instant ramen cup in one hand. He looked surprised to see us, but he let us in without a question. I had been in his house before but it had looked more lived-in then. There had been clothes and empty ramen cups scattered all over the place and now it was spotless. The only sign that he had ever been here at all was when I caught a glimpse of his un-made bed in the other room.

"So why are you all here?" Naruto swept us all with a confused glance, his eyes falling on me last.

I quickly looked away but I could feel his eyes on me for what felt like an eternity afterwards.

"There is something we want to discuss with you, Naruto." Kakashi-sensei came to my rescue.

"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head, squinting up at our teacher in confusion.

"The reason the Akastuki was after you – after Gaara – was because Madara is trying to gather all the bijuu –"

"Heh! I know that, Sensei," Naruto grinned. He seemed back to normal for the moment, although I was starting to wonder how much of it was actually real.

"You, and the eight-tails are the only two jinchuuriki left –"

"And we have to stop Madara before he get us," Naruto interrupted. "Yeah, I know. It's no problem."

"It _is_ a problem, baka!" I stepped forward and bonked him on the head with my fist. Since he was acting like the old Naruto, I almost forgot how serious and foreboding he had been just 3 days ago. "Shut up and listen to Kakashi-sensei."

He rubbed his head. "Ow, Sakura-chan, why did you do that?"

He was whining, so I ignored him.

"Naruto," Yamato-taichou tried. "What we have to say to you is important."

"Naruto, you can't fight Sasuke."

We all looked at Kakashi-sensei. That was being a little blunt. I looked worriedly back to Naruto, preparing myself for the violent protests I anticipated would soon follow.

"This time you cannot put yourself in danger by fighting," Kakashi continued. "I have faith in your ability, Naruto, but Madara is on a level that you have never dealt with before and we can't risk the chance of him defeating you and gaining the Kyuubi's power."

"I understand."

My mouth fell open and I gaped at Naruto in shock. What had he just said?

"You do?" Yamato-taichou seemed just as surprised as me. I'm sure Sai was surprised, too, but he still didn't show emotions very well.

Naruto shrugged, like it was the simplest thing in the world. "I know I can't take out Madara right now, and I know it would be stupid of me to try."

I have to admit I was impressed. He really had matured right before my eyes. I grinned in relief. Although, when I looked around I seemed to be the only one celebrating. Sai's face was blank, Yamato-taichou still looked confused, and Kakashi-sensei was watching Naruto warily.

"You…" Kakashi began slowly, as if what he was about to say was a test. "You understand that by fighting you would be endangering not only yourself but the entire village – the entire country. Is that what you understand, Naruto?"

"Mm hm."

I didn't see what the problem was. Naruto was not exhibiting any of the signs that would inform us he was lying. He had looked Kakashi-sensei straight in the eye, his face solemn. It convinced me.

After a second, Kakashi-sensei nodded. "All right, then. If you understand then we have nothing further to discuss." He turned and headed towards the door, the others following him.

For a moment I considered hanging back to talk with Naruto, but then I chickened out, almost tripping over my feet as I hurried to follow them.

"Good-bye, Sakura-chan," I heard Naruto say but I was already out the door.

Back on the street Yamato-taichou and I said good-bye, and I turned to head home. It was getting late. As I rounded the corner, I caught a glimpse of Kakashi and Sai speaking with their heads close together as if they were conspiring.

I helped my mother with the cooking and then headed up to my room when the meal was finished. Not really knowing what to do I scanned my shelves, looking at all the books left there from my childhood. With my finger I traced a line through the film of dust that had gathered on the shelf. When I had started the Academy, I had had so little time that all these stories had been neglected.

I picked one out, now, and went over to my bed. I laid on my stomach with my feet raised and my arms hanging over the side, the book on the floor. It was just a picture book about a fox and a bear.

I went through a couple of my old books before my mind began to wander. No matter how distracted I became, when my mind wandered, it always went back to the upcoming war and that made me restless.

Looking at my clock I groaned when I saw it was only a quarter to nine. I could never fall asleep this early – not unless I wanted to wake up at 3 am.

Sighing with irritation I rolled out of bed and made my way downstairs. My parents were talking softly in the other room. I didn't want to disturb them, so I stepped quietly out the door. It wasn't every day that I had to put my ninja skills to use in my own house!

It was a little chilly as I wandered through the village, and I wished I had brought my cloak. Rather than going back to get it, though, I decided to jog. Picking up my pace, my feet carried me past shops getting ready to close for the night, and people still milling about. I wondered if the villagers had any idea what was coming. Looking at them going about their business, now, made me glad that I had decided to join the Academy because I would hate being uninformed about matters like Pain's attack and this upcoming ninja war.

I passed Ichiraku and shot it a quick glance, half expecting Naruto to be sitting there, chatting away animatedly with the owner. I wasn't really surprised to see that he wasn't. He had, in fact, been eating ramen when we went to see him this evening.

I had to stop running when I came to the edge of the village. I noticed with some surprise that I had ended up on the road Sasuke had taken out of the village all those years ago. I glanced over at the bench where he had left me, unconscious.

_Sasuke_.

I don't know what I had been expecting when we finally saw him. We had been chasing him for so long and then all of a sudden he was there, standing above us. He was so beautiful but his eyes were so cold. He looked down at us and I wanted desperately to believe he still cared. Then he was down beside Naruto, one arm wrapped around his shoulders like the embrace given to a long-lost friend. They spoke, but I didn't catch all of it and then Sasuke…

I can tell you one thing: I had expected resistance, of course, but the last thing I had expected was to see the image of Sasuke's katana slicing towards Naruto's back. I had known it was bad when Naruto didn't bring him back when we were younger, but I had no idea it was this bad.

And now…well, I didn't really want to think about that. Naruto was going to stay away from the fighting, and I would be there to make sure Sasuke was given another chance. This time I would be of use. This time I would be strong and brave. This time I would make up for all the years I've wasted.

Resolve set firmly in my heart, I turned to go back home – only to freeze in my tracks.

He was standing there, watching me. From the pale light of the moon and the soft yellow glow of the street lamps I could see the pure determination that filled his eyes, and suddenly I knew it had all been a lie.

"Naruto –" My voice came out as a hoarse whisper; not at all as I had intended. I tried to will myself to swallow back my feelings of betrayal and fear – to make my voice strong and commanding – but when I spoke it was little more than a squeak that held in it every single feeling that was churning around in my chest at that moment. "Don't you dare leave!"


	3. Saving a Friend

**OK here the next chapter...again, it's not very carefully corrected and looked over, so there could be mistakes. I think Naruto may be a little out of character in this chapter, but I don't know – you tell me.**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the rites to my own imagination.**

**Chapter 3: Saving a Friend**

"Sakura-chan –" Naruto began.

"No!" I couldn't let him finish. This was not going to happen _again!_ "It was just too good to be true, wasn't it?" I demanded. "You were lying – you lied to Kakashi-sensei and me and…and you lied to all of us!"

"You don't understand," he mumbled, looking off to to the right.

My mixed emotions were slowly forming into one: an overwhelming anger like I'd never felt before. How could Naruto do this to me? "Of _course_ I don't understand because you won't explain it!" I yelled, my fists clenched so tightly it hurt. I wanted to punch something, using all my chakra so that it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. "We're supposed to be a _team_, Naruto! We're supposed to do things together."

"Together, Sakura-chan?" He turned his head back to me and I saw indignation flare in his eyes. "After you go off and try to kill Sasuke by yourself without telling me?"

"I didn't want to bother you." I knew that sounded lame even as the words fell from my mouth. "I didn't want you to worry."

Surprisingly his expression relaxed. "There," he told me softly. "Then you already know why I lied to you."

"What?"

Naruto sighed, running one hand over the back of his neck. "I had to lie to you all because if I had argued like I wanted, Kakashi-sensei would've probably locked me up somewhere." He held out his hands, as if imploring me to understand. "I know that they think it's important for me to stay away and safe, but I'm the only one who can fight Sasuke."

"You said that before," I frowned. I wasn't _angry_ anymore but I was still annoyed. "But you never said _why_. You never say why you have to do these things, you just do them and assume we're all going to accept you taking care of everything by yourself!"

Naruto shook his head violently. "No, Sakura-chan, you're wrong. I do things alone because –" He broke off and started restlessly pacing back and forth. "I saw what was in Sasuke's heart. I finally understand how he must have felt all this time. I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but no one – not even you – would be able to give him the fight he deserves. I'm the only one."

His words rang in my head like a bell: _The fight he deserves…the fight he deserves…_ "You mean," I said coldly, "you're the only one who _deserves_ to kill him."

Naruto stopped pacing. He didn't say anything, only stood looking off into the trees, his face half hidden by the shadow at the edge of the streetlamp's range

"You're the only one who can kill Sasuke," I continued sharply. "And he's the only one who can kill you. Isn't that right, Naruto?"

"Yes."

How could that one tiny word be so painful to hear? "No," I whispered, shaking my head violently. _No, I won't believe that…no, it's not going to happen…no, Sakura, don't cry_… "No, Naruto, no!"

Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry. You know the others want to kill Sasuke, and you know he's too powerful for them. They would all die, and I can't let that happen. He was about to kill you, Sakura-chan. He's not…not the same as the Sasuke we used to know."

"I know that!" I snapped. He was trying to change the subject and distract me from what he had just admitted. "But he's not the only –" I stopped because I didn't really know what to say.

Naruto gave me a quizzical look. When I only stared back at him helplessly, a sad little smile began to stretch across his face.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," he said, as he began to walk towards me. "I really did try to keep my promise to you. If I could think of any way to bring Sasuke back, I would do it. I know how much he means to you."

"Wait!" I moved to block his path. I had let Sasuke go because I hadn't tried hard enough. I wasn't going to let that happen again. "Naruto, just hold on a minute. Think about what you're doing!"

"I'm going to save the village!" He flung his arm out, aggressively indicating the village that lay behind him. "I'm going to leave everyone and everything that's precious to me because it's the only way to protect them. I'm going to kill my best friend, and I'm going to die. I _know_ what I'm doing, Sakura-chan!"

I had never been on the receiving end of Naruto's impassioned rants. I had watched countless times as he yelled out his feelings to our friend and our clients, and I had seen how they all responded to it. They had all seen his point and had come to think of him as someone to put their trust and faith in.

But this was different. This time, no one would have seen his point of view. "No!" I grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him a little. "Naruto, you are _not_ going to do that because it's crazy! I won't let you – I'll stop you!"

"How? By confessing your love to me again?"

I stopped. With everything else that was going on I had temporarily forgotten about that.

"You know," he said, giving me a lopsided grin, "if you hadn't said anything back there…if you had just waited and confessed to me right now then I might have actually believed you."

When I just stared at him he broke into a full-fledged grin that made me want to cry. There was not one ounce of happiness in that smile. I looked away, trying to get myself under control.

It wasn't fair. If I said anything now he would know I was just saying it to make him stay, but if I didn't say anything he would know that I had flat-out lied before. I just…didn't know what I felt. As unbelievable as it sounded, I didn't know if my confession had been real or not. Of course I loved Naruto, but was I _in_ love with him? I didn't know. Then again, was I really still in love with Sasuke?

I looked back up at Naruto. He had also changed so much. He used to be such a goofy kid and now he was standing in front of me looking so calm and mature.

"Naruto," I whispered. "If you leave…if you leave to do all those things you said, you'll never –" I took a quick breath to steady my voice. "You'll never fulfill your dream. You'll never be hokage, and you would be a _great_ hokage, Naruto! We all believe –"

"I can't be hokage if I can't even save my best friend."

"I know, you've said that." I frowned in annoyance. "But I think you're just using Sasuke as an _excuse_ so you won't feel guilty about leaving us! You may not have brought him back, but think about everyone else you've saved!"

"It's not…" he trailed off, scratching his head nervously. "It's not an excuse...it's a reason that other people can understand."

"What?"

"Sometimes to do whatever it takes to protect the village, the sacrifice…" Again he stopped. When he continued he seemed to be talking more to himself than to me. "I understand why my dad did what he did. Sacrificing himself, sealing the Kyuubi in me…it was all to protect the village and everyone he cared about." He shook his head. "My own personal goals don't mean much when it comes to the safety of entire village."

I hadn't really heard the last part. "What did you say, Naruto? You're father –?"

He glanced up at me, as if he was surprised I had caught that part. Slowly a grin stretched across his face. A real one, this time. "I met him," he admitted. "When I was fighting Pain, and the Kyuubi started to take over, he was the one who stopped me." His grin spread, making his eyes shine momentarily with his old tenacity. "Sasuke may come from the Uchiha clan, but I'm the son of the 4th Hokage! I've inherited the Will of Fire from my dad and from the Pervy Sage. I'm going to find the answer and bring peace to the world!" He jabbed himself in the chest with a thumb. "So don't you worry about a thing, Sakura-chan because everything's going to be fine. I prom –"

"Don't you dare say you promise me!" I grabbed his jacket in both fists. "So, the 4th Hokage's your father? Do you think he would be _proud_ that you're throwing everything away like this? You keep saying that you're doing this to protect the village but you're not! You're just being stupid and selfish, and – and –" I had done such a good job of holding back my tears so far, but I guess nothing lasts forever. The salty drops fell from my eyes onto the dirt path at our feet as I rested my forehead on his chest. "Don't leave, Naruto," I cried. "Please don't go. I can't go through that again! Don't leave me all alone."

He didn't move for a couple seconds as I continued to cling to his jacket. Then, slowly he raised his arms and placed both hands on my shaking shoulders. I could feel him lean forward; could feel his breath on my ear, the warmth of his cheek next to mine…

"Sakura-chan." His husky voice was a whisper in my ear. "I'm sorry."

Then he was gone.

I dropped to my knees in the dirt and let my sobs consume me. I had failed. I had failed in everything I did. My friends, my team…would I ever see them again? Would I –

"You let him go."

I bolted up in both surprise and anger, to see Sai emerging from behind a tree.

"I did everything I could!" I yelled at him. "Why didn't _you_ stop him? Why didn't _you_ do something if you were here all along?"

"Because this was your choice." He cocked his head at me, his face unreadable. "And you chose to let him leave. After everything he's done for you you're just going to let him go out there alone."

Rage surged through me and I leaped to my feet, my fists clenched. "You – you have no idea what you're talking about! You think you know everything from reading your stupid books, but there's no book that tells you how to change Naruto's mind. There's no one who can do that! I did everything I could!"

Infuriatingly, Sai seemed unaffected by my anger. "Yes, you did everything you could to make him stay, but he didn't stay. So now what are you going to do?"

"There's nothing I _can_ do!" I wailed. Of all the people I could have been having this conversation with right now, Sai was at the very bottom of the list. "He's gone. Naruto's gone and Sasuke's gone. Everything's over!" I wiped angrily at my tears.

"I read once that if you wish to learn how to effectively defeat an opponant you must learn how to think like him. This seems to be the same situation."

"Go away, Sai – leave me alone!"

He ignored me. "The difference between you and Naruto is that if something doesn't work out for you the first time, then that's it. But if Naruto fails at one thing, he accepts it and then moves on from there, trying to figure out another way to win until he eventually does. He just keeps going, no matter what." He glanced off in the direction Naruto had gone. "You didn't stop him from leaving the village, but this is not over yet. If you actually do care about him as much as I think you do, are you really just going to let him fight Sasuke and die?"

"But – but he's gone. What could I possibly do now?"

Sai shrugged. "There are many things you could do. You could go tell Kakashi what happened. Send someone after the Hokage to tell her. You could go after him yourself and spare anyone else the trouble."

Go after him? "But wouldn't that mean I was deserting the village, too?"

Sai looked at me. "This is how you and Naruto think differently. He obviously believes that he is not deserting the village. He believes that he is going after a friend to save him in whatever way he can. Isn't Naruto your friend?"

I stared at Sai as my tears finally stopped. He was right. How was he right? How could he comprehend so little and yet understand so much?

Yes, I hadn't stopped Naruto from leaving, but I had been acting as though he was already dead. I could still stop this if I really wanted to. If I really didn't want to be useless anymore then I would have to stop thinking like Sakura and start thinking like Naruto and Sasuke – both so incredibly driven by their goals and determination to do what they believed was right.

I turned to look out into the dark trees that lined the path. I wasn't leaving the village, I was just going to save my friends.

My resolve was back as I turned to look at Sai. "All right then. Are you coming?"

For the first time I thought I saw the hint of a real smile on his pale face as he tossed a cloak to me. "It is cold. You will need this."

I didn't have a chance to ask him why he was carrying around an extra cloak because he leaped off the path, landing 30 feet away on the nearest tree branch.

I leaped after him. Naruto was right: I didn't have to worry because everything _would_ be fine. For once in my life, I would make sure of that.


	4. Chapter 4

I apologize to all of you who are actually following this story. I have a booth at Anime Expo in less than a months and I have been working like crazy to finish my paintings and prints, so I haven't had time to update my story.

I promise I will try to get to it as soon as I can, but I just want to warn you that this may not be for a while.

Thanks for your patience.


	5. Meeting

**So, it's finally up. Hopefully I didn't lose any readers to boredom from too long a wait. On a side note, here, Anime Expo went great and I wish it would last all year! Anyway…so, finally, here's chapter 4. There shouldn't be such a long pause between chapter, now...**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the rites to my own imagination.**

**Chapter 4: Meeting**

Trailing Naruto was a more difficult task than I imagined. We couldn't get too close or else he would sense us, and we couldn't let him get too far ahead because we didn't know where he was going. Luckily Sai, being part of the ANBU Roots knew a thing or two about shadowing people.

We never actually saw Naruto because Sai had a small group of his ink mice following him and every once in a while one of them would drop back and inform Sai where to go.

Even though we could lag behind a little, we still had to keep up a pace that was much too fast for me, even with all my training. Naruto was practically flying through the forest, and it was all Sai and I could do to keep up.

I was relieved when Sai informed me that Naruto had finally stopped. It had already been dark for an hour, so I assumed the only reason Naruto had stopped was because he was halfway to his destination. It obviously wasn't because he was hungry or tired; with Sasuke on his mind, he wouldn't be able to think about anything else.

Even though I was exhausted as we set up a little camp, I didn't want to go to sleep. I couldn't relax at all until Sai assured me at least three times that he had his ink jutsu animals watching over Naruto, and there was no way he could sneak off in the morning without us knowing.

Even so, I slept poorly and woke up when the sun was just beginning to rise. Since I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep I got up quietly and walked a little way off from where Sai still slept. I felt the need to do something, but my normal training would have caused too much of a disturbance. I decided, instead, to go back a couple years to our first real mission.

Focusing chakra into my feet, I slowly began to walk up the trunk of the nearest tree. I remembered the first time we had done this as a team, and how good it felt looking down at my teammates from that high branch.

I climbed until I could peer out through a break in the leaves at the top of the tree. If only I had Hinata's byakugan I could see exactly where Naruto was right now. As it was, though, all I could see was the green of tree leaves, stretching out like an ocean.

I stayed up there for a couple minutes as the sun slowly climbed in the sky, taking some of the chill out of the air. Then I turned around and walked down. I didn't want to exhaust a lot of my chakra in case I needed it soon.

Sai was awake when I got back and I immediately inquired on Naruto's current state.

"Still sleeping," Sai told me, before offering up that fake smile of his. "And a good morning to you, Sakura."

We couldn't risk cooking anything in case Naruto saw the smoke and got suspicious. Luckily, I had been working diligently on my soldier pills ever since Sai called them mud-balls. They still weren't very tasty but they would definitely work well in situations like this, and I always carried some on me.

Every ten minutes I checked to see if Naruto was still sleeping. He always was, but after the sun was fully in the sky and the air had warmed up I began to worry.

"He wouldn't sleep this long. I know that under any normal, every day circumstances he can be sloppy and – and he would sleep in, but this is different. He should be up by now! He wouldn't waste all this time."

Sai shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, Sakura. He is still sleeping."

"But…but –" Then suddenly a thought occurred to me. "But, Sai, his specialty is shadow clones! Could he have fooled us? He's an amazing ninja so there's a pretty good chance that he knew we were following him."

"I just don't see how he would have had the chance to switch from his real body to a shadow clone." Sai shook his head, although the slightest hint of perplexity crossed his face for a brief moment.

"If he really wanted to, he would have found a way. You know that." Wrapping my cloak firmly around my body I got to my feet. "It was dark, and we were asleep. Your ink justsu animals may be good, but they aren't trained like us."

Sai got up as well. "You are correct. We should move." He touched my arm as I prepared to leap. "We should act with caution, though. You may be right, Sakura, but Naruto is unpredictable and he may, in fact, be sleeping in. We don't want to alert him of our presence just yet."

"Sure." I nodded to him then, putting an extra boost of chakra in my feet, I launched myself up to land on the nearest branch.

It was around noon when we finally reached the site where Naruto had supposedly camped last night. When I peered through the trees and saw him still lying on the ground, I knew something wasn't right.

"How can we safely test to see if it's a shadow clone, though?" I whispered to Sai. "Usually we only find out when someone throws a kunai at it and it vanishes. We can't risk doing that for the tiny chance that this really is Naruto, after all."

"You could kiss him."

I turned to gape at Sai as he continued, "I read in a book once of a man waking a woman by kissing her on the lips. It seemed to –"

"This isn't a fairy tale, Sai!" I hissed, nearly forgetting to keep my voice down. "That's a stupid suggestion."

"But your cheeks are red," he said calmly. "And I read that when –"

I silenced him with a punch.

Sai sat back on his heels, rubbing his head. "All I thought was that it was better than throwing a kunai at him."

I rolled my eyes at him, then turned back to the situation in front of us. "Okay…if this is a shadow clone then Naruto already knows we are following him. If it's really him then he's losing precious time by sleeping." I stood up. "So we really don't have anything to lose by waking him up." I walked towards him as Sai got to his feet behind me.

"Hey, Naruto!" I called down to him. When he didn't respond at all, I bent down and smacked him on the head with my fist, like I had done to Sai a minute ago. As I thought, "Naruto" disappeared in a poof of smoke.

I whirled around to face Sai. "All right, this is bad. We've wasted so much time! He could have been traveling all night while we thought he was sleeping." I waved an arm out behind me. "And we have no idea which way he went."

"Then we must split up." Sai turned to the right. "I'll go this way and you take the opposite direction. I'll send one of my mice after you in case either of us finds anything."

I nodded and we both leaped off in our separate directions.

I was trying so hard not to let my thoughts turn to what might have happened while we slept; what might be happening at this very moment. I tried to think of anything but Naruto and Sasuke fighting, but of course I was only kidding myself.

I was concentrating so hard that I wasn't aware of how far I'd traveled, and I almost didn't realize when I came to the edge of the forest. Sliding to a stop on a branch half hidden by the tree trunk, I peered out at the field before me.

I could see what looked like the ruins of a town or small city a little way off. Off to my right, a path ran out of the forest, winding through the tall grasses towards the ruins.

I squinted, shielding my eyes against the afternoon sun.

Was that –?

"Did I just see orange?" I whispered to myself.

The more I tried to focus, the blurrier the object became. There was only one way to find out if it was what I thought it was.

The grass almost came to my waist when I jumped down. At least it would give me some form of shelter if I had to quickly hide.

Crouching as low as was physically possible, I moved forward. I lost sight of my target about halfway to the town, but I kept going, moving a little more cautiously.

When I reached what had once been the outer wall of the town, I stopped to scan the area. I couldn't see any movement so I proceeded, moving carefully; stopping often to hide behind a close by wall every time I thought I heard something.

I noticed that, as I got farther into the town, the destruction became less and less. It still looked and felt deserted, but I could see houses still intact across the village square.

I was about to venture out onto the open square, when I suddenly started in surprise and ducked into an alley way. Placing one hand on the cold, clay wall I peeked around the corner.

There he was, half hidden in the shadow of an second-story balcony. He was sitting so still that I almost hadn't noticed him.

"Naruto –" His name came to my lips in a whisper. What are you doing? I silently asked him. Taking a break? Are you tired? Do you even know where to find Sasuke?

Now that I thought about it, how would he know where to find Sasuke? We had spent years searching without success when he was with Orochimaru, and from what I could tell, neither of them had given any indication of where they would meet that last time when Sasuke had almost killed me.

Maybe I should go to him. Maybe I could help him; maybe even convince him –

"Naruto."

That voice still gave me chills.

I followed it's sound to where he perched on one of the nearby rooftops, across the square from Naruto. How long had he been there? Had he noticed me?

Naruto casually raised his head. "Hello, Sasuke."

I gritted my teeth until my jaw hurt. How could he say it like that – like he was not even concerned or afraid at all of what might happen!

No, he's right not to be afraid, Sakura, I told myself firmly. Because I'm not going to let either of them die today!

Before I could even finish my thought, though, another one broke into my mind: But what if you have to choose? What if you can only save one of them…who would you choose?

I quickly shook it away. That wasn't going to happen.

"Aren't you going to say anything to me?" Sasuke's cool voice cut through my thoughts, and I focused my attention back on them. "Try one last time to convince me to go back?" His tone was mocking.

Naruto shook his head, still casual. "No. I've said all I need to say to you."

There was a pause before Sasuke spoke again – icy, calm: "You know I'm going to kill you, Naruto." He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Naruto shrugged. "I know you think you have to kill me. I already told you, though, we're both going to die today."

"I'm not going to die."

"Hey, I defeated Pain!" Naruto huffed in indignation, sounding like his old self and pointing a finger up at Sasuke. "Have you ever had to fight six people at once who are all coming at you from different angles with different jutsus?"

Sasuke's only answer was a snort of contempt.

A triumphant grin spread across Naruto's face. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Ursuratonkachi."

For a moment it was like old times, hearing them argue over who was stronger. Then, just like that, the moment was gone.

The ground where Naruto had been sitting exploded in a shower of dust and wood chips. I didn't even realize what had happened until I saw Naruto rolling away, and looked back to see Sasuke in crouched in the place he had just been, his katana lodged deeply in the ground. The fight had finally begun.

Naruto got to his feet, brushing off his pants. He shifted into a defensive stance as a kunai dropped into his hand from somewhere up his sleeve. "So…what do ya say, Sasuke? Loser buys me ramen?"


End file.
